How much is a Carfax report?

The short answer

• Carfax.com: $44.99 for one report.
• Here: $7.99 for one report, falling to $3.50 each in the 20-pack.
• Free: when a dealer attaches one to a listing, or a private seller already has one and shares it.

The report is the same document in every case. What changes is who bought the access and how many reports they bought at once.

What Carfax charges

Carfax sells to the public one report at a time or in multi-report packages, which bring the per-report price down if you know you'll check several cars. The single-report price is $44.99, and it hasn't moved since at least 2024: our sample report, pulled in October 2024, has “Report price US $44.99” printed on its first page.

Package prices move more often, so check carfax.com for the current offer. Dealers don't buy this way. They pay for access by subscription, which is the arrangement resellers rely on too.

Why resellers charge less

Report access costs much less per report at volume than at retail. A reseller buys at those rates and sells the reports on one at a time. You get the Carfax report as a PDF, exactly as Carfax produces it.

Our current packs, straight from the price list:

Ways to pay less, or nothing

Ask for the dealer's copy

Dealers who subscribe to Carfax often link a free report from their listings. If you don't see one, ask. A dealer with nothing to hide usually has it ready.

Buy a pack if you're comparing cars

If you're choosing between several cars, a pack costs less than the same number of singles. Here, five reports cost $25.99, which is $5.20 a report against $7.99 for one.

Use the free checks first

Before paying for anything, run the VIN through a free VIN decoder to confirm the car is what the listing says, and a recall check. They won't show accidents or title brands, but they rule out the obvious mismatches for free.

We've collected every legitimate free option in how to get a Carfax report for free.

Carfax and AutoCheck prices

AutoCheck, run by Experian, is the other big vehicle history report. It's cheaper at retail, at $29.99 for one report or $59.99 for five used within 21 days, but it's a different report built from different records.

How the two reports differ, beyond price, is in Carfax vs AutoCheck.

Is a cheap Carfax report legit?

It can be. The honest version of this business is simple: buy access at volume, deliver the real report. The dishonest version sells screenshots, edited PDFs or reports for the wrong car. A few checks tell them apart:

• You should get a PDF in Carfax's own layout, with the VIN, the vehicle and the date the report was run. Compare it with a real sample.
• The VIN on the report must match the car. Check it against the windshield plate, not the listing.
• Delivery should be automatic. A seller who takes hours and emails a file by hand is handling the document in between.
• Look for a refund rule you can read. Ours: a report that fails refunds its credit automatically, and unused credits can be refunded within 30 days.